Crimson Promises
by kingofthenobodies
Summary: When we lose our loved ones, we're never the same again. In the wake of the deaths at Sakakino Academy, Kokoro struggles to cope with the apparent death of her sister. But things are never as the seem, and the past is never truly laid to rest.
1. Storm

This is my first piece of School Days fan fiction, and it was actually suggested by one of my readers that I do one. I had already had something resembling a concept in mind, but it was that suggestion that actually pushed me to do it.

Just a quick reference point; this chapter starts off immediately after the conclusion of the anime series. I've already got plans to turn it into a full-fledged story, so this isn't the last you'll see of it. Without further ado, lets' begin.

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Crimson Promises

Chapter One

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The sun cast a deep orange glow across the surface of the water as it set behind the ocean. The glow was broken up in patches by the shifting of the small waves, glittering in the fading light and creating a kaleidoscope of yellow and orange daggers dancing their way across the waves.

The small boat rocked back and forth hypnotically as it drifted through the sea of daggers toward the setting sun, its lone passenger curled up on the deck. Katsura Kotonoha didn't even seem to notice the motion of her vessel as she perked her head up just enough to watch the sunset.

"It's beautiful, isn't it Makoto?" she whispered lovingly to the object cradled in her arms, carefully nestled in the folds of her shirt. "I could just watch it forever…"

She held the object close to her chest, smiling softly as she felt the warmth of the sun fall across her face as it continued its slow retreat behind the waters. Soon, night would fall.

The soothing sounds of the waves were playing her a lullaby, and the rhythmic motions of the boat were slowly rocking her to sleep. This place was perfect, she thought to herself as her eyelids became heavy. She was finally away from everything, and she finally had peace…and Makoto. She shifted a little bit, tilting her head down to look at the object in her arms. Makoto's empty eyes looked back up at her, and she heard him whisper in her mind.

"I love you too, Makoto…" she breathed, and allowed her eyes to slide closed.

She stayed that way for several minutes, her breathing becoming slow and even as the sun continued to slip below the horizon, turning the water from its former orange to a deep red hue.

And then her eyes snapped open.

She sat bolt upright, clutching all that was left of Makoto tightly to her, as her head whipped around.

"Who's there?" She called. "Who are you?!"

Her eyes were wide, and her pupils were rapidly shrinking as she looked frantically around the surface of the boat. One of the sails rustled in the wind, and she shakily made her way to her feet.

"Who's there?!" She repeated, her voice becoming several octaves higher.

The boat made no reply.

"ANSWER ME!!!!!" Kotonoha screamed, before sinking to her knees and burying her face in her hands. "Go away, go away, go away, go away…" She whispered as she slumped forward, falling face-first onto the deck and bursting into tears.

"Leave me alone…"

The wind was the only thing that answered, whispering through the air around her and offering up a light mist of salty water.

She looked up, her teary eyes going wide as she stared straight ahead in horror.

"Oh no…" she whispered, her breath coming in quick gasps. "Oh no, no, no…it's you, isn't it?" No response. "ISN'T IT?!!!"

She stood upright again with one swift motion, standing there on trembling legs and clutching Makoto tightly to her.

"You tried to take him from me before…" She said in a breathy whisper. "And you're still trying to steal him from me! You always wanted him for yourself, I know you did! Everything you ever said to me was a lie! Wasn't it?! WASN'T IT, SAIONJI??!!!"

Tears streamed from her panic-stricken face. She reached into the handbag that was lying on the deck beside her, drawing out her still bloody dozuki and flinging it towards the center of the boat with a yell. The bloodstained blade clattered off of the mast, hitting the deck with a _clang_ before tumbling over the side.

She reached a hand up to hastily wipe the tears from her reddening eyes. "But you were wrong." She said, letting out a small laugh. "Makoto doesn't want you at all. He chose me. Didn't you, Makoto?" She held Makoto's head up, staring into its lifeless eyes. "Didn't you? Makoto?"

Her lover gave no answer.

"Makoto…?" She asked, her voice climbing higher once more. "Why aren't you answering me?" Again, no answer was given. "Answer me…please answer me!"

She continued to stare into Makoto's eyes, tears welling up in her own once again. She brought the head in closer, holding it tightly to her chest as she continually whispered "Answer me, answer me, please answer me, answer me…"

Finally, her anguish streaming down her face, she threw back her head and let out an agonized wail. "MAKOTOOOOO!!!!!!"

The soft wind that had blown across her face earlier was now a steady gust, whipping her hair across her face as the skies darkened.

"YOU did this!!!" She shrieked, pointing an accusing finger towards her unseen tormentor. "YOU DID THIS!!!" She broke into a run, sprinting across the boat as the first drops of rain began lightly dropping across her vessel. "I won't let you follow me…" She breathed, stretching out her free hand and grabbing onto the rope that held up the sails of her yacht. With a swift yank they were free, billowing out and catching the rapidly strengthening breeze. "I won't let you ruin my life again!!"

The raindrops were falling at a more constant rate now, each giving a loud _plink_ as it hit the yacht. Storm clouds churned to the north, and she heard the distant rolling of thunder. Kotonoha pulled as hard as she could on the sails, and her craft changed direction, cutting through the rising waves straight towards the storm.

"I'll make sure you can't follow us…" she hissed as the small vessel began to rock to and fro with the motion of the waters.

She sailed on into the gathering night.

* * *

Four days later, the following was published in a local paper.

WRECKAGE DISCOVERED, POSSIBLY LINKED TO DOUBLE HOMICIDE.

_A group of tourists discovered the remains of what appears to be a small yacht, washed up on the shores of a mostly deserted beach. The Vessel was in several pieces, most of which have suffered irreparable damage. However, authorities were able to identify the boats' owners; The Katsura family, who filed a report just a few days ago about a stolen yacht which fits the description of the wreckage. _

_The yacht was reported as missing two days ago, when the family returned home to find it gone. However, this is not what the family is concerned with. Shortly after the theft was reported, the Katsura family also filed a missing persons report on their oldest daughter, Katsura Kotonoha, when she did not return home the next evening. It is not yet clear if these two incidents are related, and authorities say that they have not ruled out the possibility of abduction. _

"_At this point in time, we can't confirm whether or not the disappearance of the yacht is connected to the girls' disappearance." Police chief Atsushi Hajime told reporters. "It's also a definite possibility that this is part of a kidnapping case. At this moment, all options are open and we are still searching for suspects. We just don't know right now." _

_The disappearance of Katsura Kotonoha is the third incident in the past week involving students at the Sakakino Academy. As was reported four days ago, the bodies of two other students have been discovered and identified; Itou Makoto was found in his apartment, stabbed repeatedly and decapitated. The body of his fellow student, Saionji Sekai was discovered on the roof of the school, and had been mutilated by a similar weapon. What little evidence that remained at the scene has been declared inconclusive by police. _

_The Sakakino Academy has been closed for the past two days in the wake of the murders, and some parents have even withdrawn their students from the school. Is Sakakino in the grip of a serial killer? According to chief Hajime, "It may not be related at all because it doesn't fit the pattern of the other two deaths, but at the moment we're treating the girls disappearance as a possible homicide." _

_We will keep you updated on this story as it develops. _

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END CHAPTER

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So, what did you think of the first chapter? I really tried to capture the character of Kotonoha in this, so I can only hope that I pulled it off all right. I really like her as a character, and she's a lot of fun to write. The goal was for her sanity to slip away even more than it already had, so that's why she's a little more…out there…than usual. She's gradually getting worse as her grip on reality loosens.

Anyway, like I said earlier, I will be continuing this, so please let me know if you like it!


	2. Meeting

Crimson Promises

Chapter Two**  
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**BEEP!**

**BEEEP!**

**BEEEEP!**

**BEEEEEP!!**

Kokoro's eyes slowly rolled open as the insistent chirping of her alarm clock grew steadily louder. She let out a groan, followed by a long, drawn out yawn as she rubbed her eyes and looked around her room. The first rays of sun were just beginning to creep in through the blinds of her window.

_It's too early to be awake…_she thought to herself, finally mustering the will to crawl out of bed and begin slipping out of her pajamas and into her uniform.

Buttoning up her blouse, she slowly made her way over to the bathroom and clicked on the light. She took in her appearance in the mirror for a brief moment; her long black hair was disheveled, hanging in thick tangles over her shoulders, and her eyes still had sleep clinging to the edges. So far, it was shaping up to be one of those days.

After giving her unruly hair a well-earned brush, Kokoro was finally ready to face the school day. Or at least as ready as she'd ever be. She threw her books into her bag and slung the heavy parcel over her shoulders, heading downstairs as she did so. A quick "bye mom!" and she was out the door.

One train ride later, she stood outside the entrance to the Sakakino Academy.

If there was a place on earth that never seemed to change, it was Sakakino. She had visited only a couple of times when she was a child, but the place looked exactly the same. It was the exact same building, which housed the exact same classrooms, which seemed to be taught by the exact same teachers. The only things that ever seemed to change at Sakakino were the students.

Kokoro could remember the days when she was so intimidated by this school. When she was a little girl she had looked at the Academy with mixed feelings of excitement and apprehension. After all, it was so different from her elementary schools. But now she was a sophomore herself, and Sakakino had changed in her eyes from a dreaded place of transitions to just another aspect of everyday life.

She walked quickly through the halls, waving to people she knew and pausing every now and then to hold brief conversations with her friends before they all went their separate ways towards their classes.

"Katsura Kokoro?"

"Here."

Roll call.

Class.

Oh, joy.

It was an astonishingly mundane day, she thought. She took notes in class (a lecture on '_The American School'_), and tried to get something out of it, but it just wasn't working today. Her detailed notes on the teacher's lecture soon trickled off into the doodled form of a cat. The doodle eventually stretched out to fill the lower half of the page, and class was over before she even realized it. If it weren't for the bell, she probably wouldn't have noticed at all.

She shoved her notebooks to the bottom of her backpack and made for the door. Finally the day was…oh, right. The Student Council meeting. She had completely forgotten about that…

She grudgingly changed directions, working her way through the throngs of lucky, homeward-bound students and towards the room that served as the meeting place of the Student Council. _Hopefully this meeting will be a short one… _she thought.

As it turned out, the meeting was anything but short.

An hour and a half later she trudged back through the halls, eagerly anticipating the warm bath she planned on treating herself to when she arrived back home. A few students still lingered in the halls, waiting to be picked up by parents who couldn't get off of work, but several of the classrooms had already gone dark.

She turned the corner to the main hallway, but stopped when she noticed an unfamiliar woman walking through the hall. Kokoro could tell she wasn't a teacher by her choice of attire, which was much too casual for the Academy's standards. Besides, she was already familiar with all of the teachers.

The woman had dark, greenish hair and brown eyes, which didn't even seem to notice Kokoro as they roved across the walls. Her walk was slow, with pauses every now and again so that she could look up and down the halls.

Her curiosity finally got the better of her, and Kokoro slowly approached the woman.

"Excuse me," she said. "Are you looking for something?"

At first the woman didn't even seem to notice her presence, but as soon as she looked in Kokoro's direction she froze. The book she had been holding dropped unnoticed to the floor.

"Ummm…" Kokoro squirmed beneath the woman's stare. "Is-is something wrong?"

At first she received no answer, but finally, "…Kokoro…Katsura Kokoro?"

She gave a start before hesitantly replying, "Yes…?" The woman was still staring at her, and it was starting to creep her out just a little bit. "…Do I know you?"

"You probably don't remember me," the woman said, "My name's Setsuna Kiyoura. I went to school with your sister a long time ago."

"Oh." said Kokoro, trying to work up a smile and only slightly succeeding.

"I haven't seen you since you were a little girl, but I recognized you right away." Setsuna said, giving a slight smile of her own. Her face didn't seem to display all that much emotion, but Kokoro could still tell that she was excited. "You're a freshman this year?"

"…Sophomore." She replied.

"Sophomore…" Setsuna echoed, rubbing her forehead with another tiny smile. "I can't believe it's been that long since I've been here…" she looked back up at Kokoro, giving her an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, this must be awkward for you. You don't even know who I am, and here I am going on about the past…"

"No, it's alright." Kokoro said, trying a little harder to smile. It didn't work very well.

She studied her thumbs awkwardly as Setsuna continued to study her, trying to find a good excuse to leave.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" She finally demanded. "It's getting creepy."

"I'm sorry, it's just that…" Setsuna said, her eyes going somewhat misty. "You look just like your sister."

Kokoro went stone faced. "I think you should go now."

"Kokoro, I know it's hard for you to talk about her-"

"I said you should go now." Kokoro's voice trembled.

"-but sometimes we just have to accept the past and-"

"GO AWAY!!" Kokoro screamed. Setsuna's eyes widened, and words seemed to have failed her. She hadn't expected this kind of emotional outburst, especially after so many years. She looked around; the few students that remained in the hallway were staring at them, and a few teachers poked their heads out of their rooms to see what the disturbance was.

"…I see." She said, her voice never changing. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." She turned, and began to walk towards the door.

"Wait."

The word quivered as it escaped Kokoro's lips, and Setsuna paused, looking back toward the girl.

"You said I wouldn't remember you…" Kokoro said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "But I do. You were one of Saionji's friends, weren't you?"

Setsuna was silent for a moment. "Yes. I was."

"So can you…can you tell me…" Kokoro could barely get the words out, and she reached a trembling hand up to clear the still-flowing tears away from her eyes. "..why?"

"Why?" Setsuna echoed, with a questioning look.

"Why did it happen?!" Kokoro practically shouted again. "And don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about! Kotonoha never did anything to her! She would never do anything bad to anybody! Big Sis wasn't a bad person! So why?!" She sank to her knees, and Setsuna ran back to her. "Why did she…take my sister away…?" Her words trailed off, and Setsuna wrapped her arms around the girls shoulders.

"It's alright…" she breathed. "Come on, let's get you up."

* * *

"I'm sorry again about that stuff earlier..." Kokoro was saying, her face turning slightly red. "It's just that I haven't talked about…what happened…in a long time. I guess I kinda freaked out on you…"

Setsuna nodded in understanding. She knew how hard it had been for Kokoro back when everything had happened. A couple of months ago she had decided to go back through the details of the events, and she had stumbled upon records of the rest of the Katsura family. It had taken Kokoro several psychiatrists and years of therapy to get over the loss of her sister. So it wasn't surprising for her to react the way she had, especially considering how traumatic it had been for her.

"No, it's okay." She said. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have brought it up so quickly like I did."

The two of them were seated at an open air restaurant near the school grounds, and Setsuna had just finished ordering dinner for the two of them. Kokoro had already called home and explained that she wouldn't be home dinner, so that left them with plenty of time to talk.

"I know how hard it must have been for you…" Setsuna continued. "When I heard that Sekai was dead…I could hardly…it took me a while to get over it." For a moment the same misery that had poured from Kokoro's eyes not too long ago was visible in Setsuna's, but it only lingered for a moment before fading. "She was like a sister to me. So, I can understand the feeling of losing somebody so important to you."

Kokoro was silent, taking in everything that Setsuna was saying. "It was really hard…" she finally said. "First my big sis walks out the door and never comes back…and then the police start saying that she killed two people…" Setsuna could see tears beginning to form in Kokoro's eyes again, but the girl blinked them back and rubbed her face with one of her sleeves. "They started asking me questions. 'Did she show signs of depression? Did she ever yell at you or hit you?' I can't even imagine Kotonoha ever hitting _anybody_, especially me. They even asked me if my parents had ever abused her, or touched her in a wrong sort of way…"

Setsuna listened quietly, absent-mindedly stirring her tea and waiting for Kokoro to finish. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." She said once the other had trailed off into silence. She took a sip of tea. "It must have been a nightmare."

Kokoro simply nodded. "So," she said, trying to change the subject. "What brings you back to town, anyway? Most of the kids that were here when you were have been gone for a long time, and there's not really that much exciting happening. So why are you here?"

"Well, that's actually what I want to talk to you about." Setsuna replied, pausing to take another sip of tea. "See, it's funny that I ran into you at the school, because I was actually coming here to find you."

"What?" that wasn't anything what Kokoro had been expecting to hear. "Why me?"

"Well, it sort of relates to my job. I work for an intelligence agency now."

"So…" Kokoro said, giving her an incredulous expression. "You're what, like, a detective now?"

"Something like that."

"So what does any of this have to do with me?" Kokoro asked, looking around nervously. "I'm not, you know, a suspect or anything like that, am I?"

"No, no." Setsuna smiled. "I'm off the record right now. This is technically supposed to be my vacation."

"Okay…I still don't see how I'm involved in this…"

"Well, a couple of months ago, I pulled up all of the files on everything that happened back then. When it all happened, I didn't want to know any of the details, which I'm sure you understand. So I didn't really have a clear idea of what all had taken place, and I finally decided that it had been long enough."

Kokoro nodded, waiting for Setsuna to make her point.

"Katsura…" Setsuna began, "I've been going over all the information and…I don't think your sister is dead."

…

…

"What did you say?"

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**End Chapter**

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HARK! One of my non-KH stories has gotten a second chapter! 'Tis a momentous occasion!

Anyway, I haven't updated too much lately, contrary to what I said I would be doing a couple weeks ago. School can be such a pest sometimes. That, and I haven't really been able to think of anything lately.

But finally, I give you chapter two of School Days: Crimson Promises. It's mostly dialogue this time, and I'm mainly just setting up the plot for the future chapters. And Setsuna made a surprise appearance! I wasn't really sure how I was going to include her in the story, but I kind of like the angle that I settled on. I have no idea if she would actually be detective/investigator material, but she always struck me as the kind of person who would do well in that field. I don't know why.

Updates on my other stories are forthcoming, and reviews are always appreciated!


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